Alex SwensonRecruiting Advisor| This is a digital version of Alex

Successful athletes vs Unsuccessful athletes... comes down to this

24 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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In this concise coaching monologue, former Division I coach Alex Swenson explains that the key factor separating successful athletes from those who fall short is the internal voice they listen to. He describes how negative self‑talk after a bad play, loss, injury, or setback—questions like “Can I do this?” or “Am I good enough?”—can trap athletes in a downward spiral, limiting growth and performance. Conversely, athletes who learn to train their inner dialogue to be positive, framing setbacks as learning opportunities, can overcome adversity and achieve higher performance, even when they are less naturally talented. Swenson emphasizes that this mental skill can be deliberately practiced, and that success hinges on consistently telling oneself the right story after setbacks.

Chapters

After coaching at the Division I level and working with hundreds of athletes, this is the main difference between successful athletes and non-successful athletes, and that is the voice that they listen to in their head. Listen, we've all had negative thoughts after a bad play, after a bad game, after a setback or an injury. The doubts start creeping in. Can I do this? Am I good enough? The athletes that stay in that, that feed that negative voice, they are going to stay there. They're not going to be successful. But the athletes that can train themselves to feed that positive voice will be successful. I see it so many times. The ones that are not even as talented as the ones that are over here, but it's the story that they tell themselves in their head. They will not allow themselves to be punished by that negative voice because it is. It suppresses you down further and further. You're not able to actually fully grow. So you have to learn how to train your voice and be positive and tell yourself a positive story after a setback. 'Cause it's easy when all is good. It's when you get a setback, but you can train yourself to be, good, this is where I can learn from this. Make sure you're telling yourself the right story.